Concentrations within the School of ECE at Georgia Tech

1. ECE Concentration Talks
Presented by: WECE

2. Have you been here yet?
So …. The classes I’ve been taking are …. BORING!
Please tell me there’s hope in the future cause I’m too far in to
switch majors
:-/

3. Light at the End of the Tunnel
FEAR NOT!
There is hope … down the road
:-)

4. ECE Concentrations
 Truth: Broad ECE course information can be boring and
mundane
 Fact: Once you know your basics, you can do a lot of very
cool things depending on what you specialize in

5. Bioengineering
 The application of engineering principles to the study and
control of biological processes; mathematical and physical
concepts are developed that are applied to medicine and
biology
 ECE 1750 – Introduction to Bioengineering
 ECE 4781 – Biomedical Instrumentation
 ECE 4782 – Biosystems Analysis
 ECE 4783 – Introduction to Medical Image Processing
 ECE 4784 – Engineering Electrophysiology

6. Bioengineering
 Creating medical instruments used to diagnose major
diseases and conditions
 Designing sensors that track body
outputs and movement
 Studying the brain

7. Digital Signal Processing
(DSP)
 Representation of signals in digital form, and the
transformation of such signal representations using digital
computation
 ECE 3075 – Random Signals
 ECE 4270 – Fundamentals of Digital Signal Processing
 ECE 4271 – Applications of Digital Signal Processing
 ECE 4273 – Design Synthesis of Application-Specific Signal
Processors

8. Digital Signal Processing
(DSP)
 Computer vision
 Face recognition software
 Voice recognition software
 Siri, Speaking to your phone

9. Telecommunications
 The characterization, representation, transmission, storage, and
networking of information over various media including space, optical
fiber, and cable.
 ECE 3075 – Random Signals
 ECE 3076 – Computer Communications
 ECE 4110 – Internetwork Programming
 ECE 4112 – Internetwork Security
 ECE 4601 – Communication Systems
 ECE 4602 – Communication Systems Laboratory
 ECE 4604 – Network Design and Simulation
 ECE 4605 – Advanced Internetworking
 ECE 4606 – Wireless Communications
 ECE 4607 – Mobile and Wireless Networks

10. Telecommunications
 Wireless Communications and Networking
 Network or Cyber Security

11. Systems and Controls
 Mathematical and computational techniques for
modeling, estimation, and control of systems and processes
 ECE 3085 – Introduction to Systems and Controls
 ECE 3090 – Software Fundamentals for Engineering
 ECE 4551 – Systems and Controls I
 ECE 4555 – Embedded and Hybrid Control Systems
 ECE 4560 – Introduction to Automation and Robotics
 ECE 4562 – Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic in Control
 ECE 4570 – System Theory for Communication and Control
 ECE 4580 – Computational Computer Vision
 ECE 4761 – Industrial Controls and Manufacturing

12. Systems and Controls
 Human Computer Interfaces
 Robotics
 Optimization

13. Optics and Photonics
 The study of light; its interaction with materials and devices;
its generation, manipulation, and detection; its applications in
communications, spectroscopy, sensing; and the design of
systems to exploit it.
 ECE 4500 – Optical Engineering
 ECE 4501 – Fiber Optics
 ECE 4751 – Laser Theory and Applications (prereq: PHYS
2212)

14. Optics and Photonics
 Photovoltaics (Solar Panels)
 Holograms
 The people behind the now infamous
Coachella hologram!

15. Microelectronics
 Development of the next generation electronic, optoelectronic and micro-
electro-mechanical (MEM) devices, circuits and systems that is not limited to
only semiconductor materials. This research has continued to focus on the
further miniaturization of devices and structures that is now moving beyond
Moore’s Law into the realm of nanostructures
 ECE 3080 – Semiconductor Devices for Computer Engineering and
Telecomm Systems
 ECE 4451 – Semiconductor Devices for Wireless and Fiber Communication
 ECE 4460 – Introduction to Electronic Systems Packaging
 ECE 4752 – Integrated Circuit Fabrication
 ECE 4754 – Electronics Packaging Assembly, Reliability, Thermal
Management, &Test
 ECE 4755 – Electronic Packaging Substrate Fabrication

16. Microelectronics
 Solar cells
 Mini cells that go into things we use everyday
 Cell phones
 Cars
 … all modern electronics

17. Electronic Designs and
Applications
 Device and integrated circuit (IC) fabrication, circuit and system
design and simulation, and instrumentation and testing
techniques
 ECE 3050 – Analog Electronics
 ECE 4410 – Analog Filters
 ECE 4415 – RF Engineering I
 ECE 4418 – RF Engineering II
 ECE 4420 – Digital Integrated Circuits
 ECE 4430 – Analog Integrated Circuits
 ECE 4435 – Operational Amplifier Design
 ECE 4445 – Audio Engineering

18. Electronic Designs and
Applications
 Power consumption minimization
 The people making your smart phone battery last longer
 Building circuits to model neurons in the brain
 Work with bioengineering to help understand the body

19. Electromagnetics
 The study of Maxwell’s equations and their application to the
analysis and design of devices and systems.
 ECE 3065 – Electromagnetic Applications
 ECE 4360 – RF-Microwave Measurement Laboratory
 ECE 4370 – Antenna Engineering
 ECE 4390 – Introduction to Radar and Electromagnetic
Sensing
 ECE 4391 – Electromagnetic Compatibility

20. Electromagnetics
 Modeling nerve signals as an EM transmission line
 Electromagnetics in space exploration
 Satellites
 Dish TV anyone?, Weather satellites, cellphone
communication, GPS

21. Electrical Energy
 Electrical Energy is primarily concerned with meeting the future
demand for electric energy while satisfying environmental
constraints.
 ECE 3070 – Electromechanical and Electromagnetic Energy
Conversion
 ECE 3071 – Modern Electric Energy Systems
 ECE 4320 – Power System Analysis and Control
 ECE 4321 – Power System Engineering
 ECE 4325 – Electric Power Quality
 ECE 4330 – Power Electronics
 ECE 4335 – Electric Machinery Analysis

22. Electrical Energy
 Renewable Energy
 Electric Vehicles
Chevy Volt
 The Smart Grid

23. Computer Engineering
Computer Systems & Software, VLSI Systems and Digital
Design
 Foundations of digital design including computer
architecture, design tools, VLSI, testing, and computer network.
 ECE 3035 – Mechanisms for Computing Systems
 ECE 3055 – Computer Architecture and Operating Systems
 ECE 3060 – VLSI and Advanced Digital Design
 ECE 4100 – Advanced Computer Architecture
 ECE 4110 – Internetwork Programming
 ECE 4112 – Internetwork Security
 ECE 4130 – Advanced VLSI Systems
 ECE 4175 – Embedded Microcontroller Design
 ECE 4180 – Embedded Systems Design

24. Computer Engineering
 Faster processing times
 Making your smart phone operate faster
 Artificial Intelligence
 Cloud Computing

25. There is Hope!
 There are A LOT of cool things to do with your ECE
knowledge
 Many future projects/research utilizes knowledge from
multiple concentrations so try to at least understand the
fundamentals in each area
 Above all, keep it in context. It may not be AWESOME now
but it DEFINITELY pays off down the road
 You have to crawl (basics) before you run (future
research/projects)